Comments on: Premiership Rugby salary cap to rise again

By: Dazza

Dazza — Tue, 27 Oct 2015 12:16:28 +0000

Loving the fact you’ve pictured Sarries and Bath in the picture for this post!!

By: brighty

brighty — Fri, 23 Oct 2015 14:02:11 +0000

On the plus side the English clubs will now be able to pump more money into Welsh rugby.

Ray has it spot on I think – someone’s breached it but the suits have realised that they can’t enforce it without a load of legal ruckus, so gentleman’s handshake/whitewash, all agree we won’t do it again until the next time.

I see no point in having a salary cap and then not actually doing it. Wouldn’t it just be cleaner if they admitted there wasn’t really one?

By: Andy C

Andy C — Fri, 23 Oct 2015 12:51:15 +0000

I’d think that he’s probably got a much better idea about what’s going on than many. In any event, I actually think it’s good that a current player is interested in the way his sport is being (mis)managed.

By: twelvestocks

twelvestocks — Fri, 23 Oct 2015 12:32:46 +0000

You don’t know that without seeing the figures and my point really was that Joe Marler is no better position than you or I to make insinuating, sarcastic tweets.

By: Matthew Cronwright-Brown

Matthew Cronwright-Brown — Fri, 23 Oct 2015 12:10:26 +0000

“– Each Club can continue to have a maximum of two Excluded Players, with one being new to Premiership Rugby or not having played in Premiership Rugby for at least 12 months;”

For simplicity’s sake, shall we just call this the “Stefan Armitage Clause”

By: Staggy

Staggy — Fri, 23 Oct 2015 12:00:50 +0000

Ray – agree totally. And I was worried about a cover up at the RFU! Oh well that leaves Sarries and Bath in the clear then with no stain on their honour, or whichever clubs it was that were being investigated……….

As for Marler, don’t knock what he is saying, I’m sure that the players (and their agents) have a much better idea of what is going on than we do.

By: Ray

Ray — Fri, 23 Oct 2015 11:30:46 +0000

Despite the smoke and mirrors it’s not difficult to work out what’s happend. A couple of clubs have been caught out breaching the spirit if not the letter of the salary cap and they’ve threatened legal action if they are named, shamed and penalised. Additionaly they’ve flashed the cash and bought off the other clubs with this ‘financial settlement’, I hope it’s a very very large settlement.
Hopefully they have now agreed a watertight definition of what is and is not included in the salary cap in return for the huge increase in the cap. Two aspects of this deal worry me. The two excluded players having to come from outside the Premiership i.e. they have to be foreign, why exactly? and does the ‘international player credit’ also apply to foreign internationals or just English players? could we find a situation where, for example, Northanpton are ‘compensated’ when G North plays for Wales.

By: Leon

Leon — Fri, 23 Oct 2015 11:28:47 +0000

This statement pisses me off because it says one thing while doing completely the other.

“This investment is intended to help drive the next phase of growth in English club and international rugby”

No this investment is to allow clubs to spend even more on foreign imports at the expense of home grown talent.
+£2m in the pot to be spent on anyone
+100k in the pot to encourage home grown talent
2 players outside of cap provided they are not playing in the prem already (i.e. foreign imports)

By: spoonofmilk

spoonofmilk — Fri, 23 Oct 2015 10:58:22 +0000

I don’t think it needs an expert in accountancy to know that some clubs are creative in how they balance their salary cap books.

By: twelvestocks

twelvestocks — Fri, 23 Oct 2015 10:48:42 +0000

Joe Marler an expert forensic accountant with access to all the figures…..Yeh sure…..

By: Andy C

Andy C — Fri, 23 Oct 2015 10:47:10 +0000

Nice to see Mr Wray posting on here. How are you today, Nigel?

By: Jez

Jez — Fri, 23 Oct 2015 10:43:39 +0000

The moment anyone associated with Harlequins complains about salary caps etc is the moment someone should point out the history of Shameutirism as Quins through out the amateur era were one of the most blatant brown envelope in boot exponents.